Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to continue to support the Highlands and Islands sheep strategy.

Ross Finnie: The Executive funded the first stage of this strategy, which proved to be highly successful. This initiative was featured as a case study in A Forward Strategy for Scottish Agriculture and public funding for the next phase is being made available through Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Agriculture

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the achievements of the Highlands and Islands sheep strategy have been in the last two years and what targets have been set for the next two years.

Ross Finnie: The first phase of the Highlands and Islands Sheep Strategy ended in December 2001, when the achievements were evaluated and a report produced. The evaluation concluded that there were considerable benefits through physical and genetic improvements in flocks. Future targets will be determined by a steering group made up of local representatives, including Highlands and Islands Enterprise who are funding phase 2 of the strategy.

Agriculture

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage more crofters and farmers to become involved in phase 2 of the Highlands and Islands sheep strategy.

Ross Finnie: The Executive featured the Highlands and Islands Sheep Strategy in A Forward Strategy for Scottish Agriculture to encourage greater involvement by crofters and farmers in that area. Further funding has also been provided by Highlands and Islands Enterprise who along with other partners are best placed to encourage local involvement.

Agriculture

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of direct Common Agricultural Policy support was received in 2000-01, broken down by commodity.

Ross Finnie: A detailed breakdown of direct support by commodity is given by calendar year in Scottish Agriculture - Output, Input and Income Statistics 2002. Provisional estimates for the years 2000 and 2001 can be summarised as follows.

  

 

2000 (£ million) 


2001 (£ million) 




Cattle 
  

248.8 
  

179.5 
  



Sheep 
  

91.0 
  

47.5 
  



Milk 
  

1.8 
  

6.3 
  



Arable 
  

112.6 
  

97.3 
  



Other subsidies 
  

37.9 
  

109.9 
  



Total 
  

492.1 
  

440.5

Agriculture

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of market support was received for agriculture in 2000-01, broken down by commodity.

Ross Finnie: The value of indirect market support to agriculture in Scotland can be estimated by using OECD Producer Subsidy Estimates (PSE) for the EU. The calculation is dependent on assumptions about a number of factors such as exchange rates and differences between domestic and world commodity prices.

  The provisional estimate of indirect support for Scotland in 2000 (the latest year available) is £155 million. It is not currently possible to produce a reliable breakdown of this figure by commodity. However, provisionally we estimate that in 2000 the main recipients by commodity of indirect support were beef (around 38%) and milk (around 44%). These figures should be treated with caution and may be subject to revision as further information becomes available.

Birds

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what expenditure has been incurred by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) since 1997 in connection with the protection of (a) predator species, including pine martins, sparrow hawks, merlins and eagles, and (b) smaller prey species such as waders, winchats, wheaters, woodpeckers and finches; whether SNH distinguishes between different species perceived to be under threat, and whether some threatened species are considered by SNH to be more worthy of support than others.

Allan Wilson: This is a matter for Scottish Natural Heritage. The information requested is not held centrally.

Broadcasting

Mr Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had, as part of its cultural responsibilities, with Her Majesty’s Government about the possibility of a "Scottish Six" national news programme

Mr Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions, as part of its cultural responsibilities, it has had with the BBC about the possibility of a "Scottish Six" national news programme

Dr Elaine Murray: None. BBC programming and editorial decisions are entirely a matter for the BBC.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when regulations for reducing the risk of transmission of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) through blood transfusion were brought into force.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it was made aware of the risk of transmission of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease through blood transfusion.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive from which countries the plasma for fractionation is currently being imported on the basis of lower incidence of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Mr Frank McAveety: Precautionary measures to reduce the theoretical risk of transmission of vCJD through blood or blood products were introduced in 1998 following advice from the UK Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) and the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC).

  There is no scientific evidence that vCJD can be transmitted in humans through blood or blood transfusion. Purely as precautionary measures, and to reduce the theoretical risk to the blood supply, plasma for the manufacture of blood products is currently obtained from non-UK sources (Germany and USA) and donated blood from UK donors is leucodepleted (white blood cells are removed).

Education

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current level of funding is per secondary school pupil in each local authority area.

Nicol Stephen: Information on budgeted school running costs for the current financial year was published on Thursday 5 December 2002 on the Scottish Executive website at:

  www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00217-00.asp.

Employment

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to enable working women to balance work and family life.

Cathy Jamieson: Our Child Care Strategy is about supporting children and families. Good quality affordable child care not only benefits children, but can help parents to take up work or study. We allocated £16.75 million to local authorities through Child Care Strategy funding in the current year, and this will rise to £40.65 million by 2006.

  Officials have worked jointly with colleagues in the Department of Trade and Industry to develop a Work Life balance Toolkit for Child Care Partnerships. The Toolkit will help Child Care Partnerships engage with local employers on the business case for adopting family friendly policies.

  We are liaising with the Department for Work and Pensions on the new child care partnership manager's role in Jobcentre Plus districts. From April 2003 child care partnership managers will aim to help improve the information flow on child care services, particularly for lone parents, to encourage more parents into employment.

Employment

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of 16- to 19-year-olds have not been in education, training or employment in each year since 1996.

Iain Gray: The data in the following table, taken from the Labour Force Survey, shows the numbers and percentages for the proportion of 16- to 19-year-olds in Scotland who were not in education, employment or training (NEET) over the period 1996-2002.

  

 

1996 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  

2002 
  



No. NEET 
  

35,000 
  

32,000 
  

36,000 
  

33,000 
  

36,000 
  

37,000 
  

35,000 
  



% NEET 
  

14% 
  

13% 
  

14% 
  

13% 
  

14% 
  

14% 
  

14% 
  



  Source: Labour Force Survey, Office for National Statistics.

  Notes:

  1. Figures from spring of each year and revised figures for 1999-2001 due to regrossing of the Labour Force Survey.

  2. Number rounded to nearest thousand.

Employment

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce the number of 16- to 19-year-olds that are not in education, training, or employment in the East Dunbartonshire Council area.

Iain Gray: A range of action is in hand:

  Dunbarton and Lomond Inclusiveness Project;

  Pre-vocational programmes;

  Get Ready for Work;

  New Deal, and

  New Futures Fund projects.

  The Dunbarton and Lomond Inclusiveness project, Positive Futures, is working with a range of key partners to provide early intervention and post-school support for young people with additional support needs.

Employment

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the unemployment rates have been in East Dunbartonshire in each year since 1997.

Iain Gray: The annual average residence based claimant count unemployment rates for East Dunbartonshire from 1997 to 2001 and the latest monthly data for October 2002 are shown in the following table.

  


Date 
  

Rate* 
  



1997 
  

4.1% 
  



1998 
  

3.6% 
  



1999 
  

3.0% 
  



2000 
  

2.8% 
  



2001 
  

2.5% 
  



Nov 2002 
  

2.4% 
  



  Note:

  *All the rates will be subject to revisions in 2003. This is because they are dependent on information from mid-year population estimates and the Labour Force Survey. Revised mid-year population estimates will become available from analysis of the 2001 census and the Labour Force Survey will then be regrossed. This will give new estimates of economic activity.

Fire Service

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the arrangements put in place in response to the eight-day strike by fire service employees in Scotland were satisfactory.

Mr Jim Wallace: The armed forces and police together with a number of other organisations are to be congratulated on the way in which emergency fire cover was provided during the eight-day strike on 22 to 30 November. A report has been prepared and copies have today been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will arrange for representatives of bodies representing the fishing industry to be seconded to it for the purpose of maximising its effectiveness in the impending EU negotiations.

Ross Finnie: No. Member states cannot bring representatives of their industry to a Council as part of the official delegation. I will continue to consult closely with the industry in the run-up to the Council.

Flood Prevention

Mr Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that local authorities are carrying out their responsibilities with regard to flood prevention.

Allan Wilson: The amendment of the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961 in 1997, among other things, introduced a new duty on local authorities to publish a report every two years specifying:

  (a) any measures which the council considered it was required to take to mitigate flooding of non-agricultural land;

  (b) any measures already taken since publication of previous report, and

  (c) all occurrences of flooding of non-agricultural land since publication of previous report.

  These reports ensure that a council’s actions to address flood risk are properly documented and open to local public scrutiny.

Further and Higher Education

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the capital requirements of further and higher education institutions.

Iain Gray: The detailed assessment of the capital requirements of further and higher education institutions is a matter for individual institutions and the Scottish Funding Councils for Further and Higher Education.The Executive does not make any separate assessment of those requirements.

Housing

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will re-examine with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service the nature of the evidence required for prosecutions of unlicensed houses of multiple occupation.

Mr Jim Wallace: There are no plans to re-examine evidential requirements for prosecutions of breaches of law on licensing of houses in multiple occupation, but the local procurator fiscal would be happy to discuss specific concerns with any local council responsible for administration of the licensing scheme. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service will prosecute cases where there is sufficient evidence and prosecution is in the public interest.

Housing

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in determining the quality thresholds for the Scottish Standard for Social Housing.

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when a proposal for the Scottish Standard for Social Housing will be published and what issues will be included in the proposal.

Ms Margaret Curran: We expect to issue a consultation paper shortly.

Housing

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether regulations on lead pipes will be included in the Scottish Standard for Social Housing.

Ms Margaret Curran: We shall shortly consult local authorities, registered social landlords and others about the elements that the Scottish Standard for Social Housing should cover. It is too soon to rule individual elements in or out.

Interception of Communication

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-31556 by Mr Jim Wallace on 25 November 2002, whether it is consulted prior to the implementation of any interception warrants in respect of people resident in Scotland; what facility exists for such people to ascertain whether an interception warrant has been authorised against them, and whether there is any procedure facilitating appeal against such authorisation.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 is reserved, but certain limited functions have been devolved to the Scottish ministers in relation to serious crime in or as regards Scotland.

  The issue of interception warrants by the UK Government in the interests of national security or for the purpose of safeguarding economic well-being is a reserved matter and there is no statutory requirement for the Scottish ministers to be consulted about such warrants where these are in respect of people resident in Scotland.

  The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 established an independent tribunal (the Investigatory Powers Tribunal) to consider complaints from members of the public about conduct alleged to involve interception of communications by the intelligence services and certain public authorities.

Justice

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many extraditions to EU member states it has approved since May 1999.

Mr Jim Wallace: The extradition of one fugitive has been approved since May 1999.

Justice

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guarantees of the protection of their human rights suspects arrested in Scotland under a European arrest warrant would have.

Mr Jim Wallace: Under the provisions of the Extradition Bill, as introduced in the Westminster Parliament on 14 November 2001, such persons have a right to see the arrest warrant or a copy of it as soon as practicable on request, if it is not shown to them at the time of arrest. The bill also requires such persons to be brought before a judge with power to grant bail as soon as practicable. If bail is not granted that decision can subsequently be reviewed. In addition, under clause 21 of the bill the judge is required to decide whether the extradition would breach the person’s human rights and discharge the person if there would be a breach.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30827 by Ross Finnie on 18 November 2002, what the difference is between "adjacent salmon fishings" which it states is not provided for in the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill and "salmon fishings contiguous to" croft land as stated in section 65(2)(d) of the bill.

Ross Finnie: "Contiguous to" has a more precise and more strictly limited meaning than "adjacent" which can be interpreted as "close to" without necessarily conveying the concept of physical contact with the croft land.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30827 by Ross Finnie on 18 November 2002, why section 65(2)(d) of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill provides for the purchase of "salmon fishings contiguous to" croft land when the intention of the bill is to provide for the purchase of salmon fishings that are exercisable from croft land and whether it plans to lodge any amendment to bring the bill into line with this intention

Ross Finnie: It is my understanding that the terminology used in section 65(2)(d) is precisely what is required in order to achieve our policy intention.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30830 by Ross Finnie on 18 November 2002, whether it will lodge an amendment to the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill that would enable crofting communities to buy salmon fishings on croft land and not those exercisable from croft land and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Ross Finnie: I see no need to change the bill in the manner proposed since the existing provisions fully meet our policy intentions.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30831 by Ross Finnie on 18 November 2002, why it was not intended that salmon fishings on land contiguous to croft land should be subject to the additional tests found in section 74 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Ross Finnie: If the acquisition of salmon fishings in accordance with the provisions of the bill was made subject to the highly restrictive tests in section 74, the outcome would be to ensure that a crofting community body could rarely, if ever, purchase salmon fishings. That outcome would not be consistent with our policy intentions.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30833 by Ross Finnie on 18 November 2002, why, if it is its policy to give crofting communities the opportunity to buy their croft land, it also plans to allow such communities to buy salmon fishings on contiguous land that is not theirs, with no further tests.

Ross Finnie: The bill does not permit crofting communities to buy salmon fishings located on contiguous land. It is the salmon fishings themselves which have to be contiguous.

  There are tests that apply to the acquisition of salmon fishings. These are the same as apply to the acquisition of the croft land. However, there is also a further requirement that the salmon fishings may only be acquired in conjunction with the croft land or within a year of acquisition of the croft land in accordance with the provisions of the bill.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the estimate of one application per year to exercise the crofting community right to buy contained in the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, as referred to in paragraph 324 of the Explanatory Notes to the Bill, how many such applications it estimates will contain a salmon fishing as one of the subjects of the application.

Ross Finnie: No estimate has been or can be made. There are too many uncertainties. If experience of existing community purchases is anything to go by, a significant proportion of crofting community bodies may not be interested in acquiring salmon fishings. However, we consider it important that the opportunity to do so should be available.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30835 by Ross Finnie on 18 November 2002, whether it is satisfied, bearing in mind the opinion of the Court of Session in the case of County Properties v the Scottish Ministers and, in particular, paragraph 19 of that opinion, that the approval of applications made under Part 3 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill will be fair, given that none of the safeguards mentioned in paragraph 19 of the opinion will be present.

Ross Finnie: The approval of applications by Scottish ministers under Part 3 of the bill will be fair in that the provisions of that part are in accordance with the general principles laid down by the courts in both the County Properties and Alconbury cases. There is provision in section 78 for any interested party to refer any question arising from an application for consent to buy to the Land Court and section 88 provides a right of appeal against ministers’ decision on questions of law.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30836 by Ross Finnie on 18 November 2002, whether there will be two public interest tests when an application is made under Part 3 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, namely that the application is in the public interest using the qualified definition in the bill and that it is in the public interest in the normal sense of the phrase as applied to Article 1 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Ross Finnie: As stated in the answer given to question S1W-30836, the purpose of section 71(2) of the bill is to elucidate the meaning of the phrase "public interest" as used in the bill. Whether or not ministers consider a proposed acquisition by a crofting community body is in the public interest will depend on the facts and circumstances of each particular case.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-30836 and S1W-30837 by Ross Finnie on 18 November 2002, why, if the exercise of the crofting community right to buy under the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill must be in the public interest in order to be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), there is no test of the public interest, in the sense of the phrase as applied to Article 1 of Protocol 1 of ECHR, in the bill.

Ross Finnie: Article 1 of Protocol 1 of ECHR provides that no one shall be deprived of their possessions except inter alia in the public interest. This is why an acquisition under the crofting community right to buy must be in the public interest in order to be compatible with the Convention. What constitutes the "public interest" in each particular case can only be decided on the facts of that case.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the purpose of the word "furthering" in the amended section 71(1)(j) of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill is to introduce a comparative test of sustainable development whereby the proposed operation by the crofting community body is compared with the existing operation and, if not, what the purpose of the word is.

Ross Finnie: The amendment to section 71(1)(j) of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill was not intended to introduce a comparative test of sustainable development.

  The Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development explained the purpose of the amendments to the Land Reform Bill, which altered references to sustainable development, to the Justice 2 Committee on 29 October. The relevant comments are recorded at columns 1960 to 1964 of the Official Report of the 37th meeting of the Justice 2 Committee. This is available on the Parliament’s website at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/official_report/cttee/just2-02/j202-3702.htm.

Learning Disabilities

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to support employment opportunities for adults with learning disabilities.

Iain Gray: Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing Scottish organisations.

  Jobcentre Plus’s Disability Services support people with a range of disabilities in their search for employment. This includes those with learning difficulties.

  Employment assessment and advice for a disabled person’s job search is offered by:

  Disability Employment Advisers, based in Jobcentres, and

  Occupational Psychologists who specialise in working with disabled people.

  They also provide information on the range of services available. These include Work Preparation, Job Introduction Scheme, Access to Work, Workstep and New Deal for Disabled People. The New Deal for Disabled People is available on a voluntary basis across Scotland. Additionally, people who face particular disadvantage may be granted early entry to other New Deal programmes without having to complete the qualifying period of unemployment.

  Early entry to the Training for Work programme is available to a wide range of groups who are particularly disadvantaged in the labour market including people with disabilities.

Museums and Galleries

Mr Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure the future of museums and galleries.

Dr Elaine Murray: The Executive ran a three-month consultation process on the findings of the National Audit of Scotland's Museums and Galleries from 9 September to 6 December. This consultation process also included a seminar organised by the Scottish Museums Council on 4 November. The information submitted through the consultation will inform the creation of an action plan, to be published in spring 2003, providing a framework for the development of the museums and galleries sector in Scotland.

NHS Funding

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will commit resources in the future to support the implementation of new guidelines and recommendations for NHS primary care treatment.

Malcolm Chisholm: Decisions about the level of resources to commit to supporting the implementation of new guidelines and recommendations for NHS primary care treatment are for NHS boards to make in the light of local priorities. However, the resources provided to NHS boards are at record levels with a real increase, averaging 7.8% indicated for 2003-04.

New Deal

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the 42,000 young people in Scotland that have gone into jobs from the New Deal were from East Dunbartonshire.

Iain Gray: New figures to the end of September 2002 were released on 28 November. These indicate that 47,000 young people in Scotland have now gone into jobs from the New Deal, of which 668 were from East Dunbartonshire.

Prison Service

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what separate provision is made in each Scottish Prison Service adult prison for young offenders, showing the design capacity of any separate accommodation available for such offenders.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Separate provision for under-21 remand prisoners in adult prisons is provided at HM Prison Barlinnie. The design capacity is 122.

  Separate provision for young offenders is provided at HM Prison Edinburgh. The design capacity is 42 with the ability to increase it to 62 by doubling up in some certain cells.

Prison Service

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any separate provision is made in each Scottish Prison Service young offenders institution for offenders under the age of 16.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The SPS has no separate accommodation for this purpose. Prisoners under the age of 16 are normally held in single cell accommodation with integral sanitation. If the person is considered particularly "at risk" then that prisoner may for their best interest be detained in the health centre.

Prison Service

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30372 by Mr Jim Wallace on 12 November 2002, whether there is a discrepancy between the totals for injuries reportable to the Health and Safety Executive given in the answer and the totals shown on page 9 of the Scottish Prison Service Annual Report and Accounts 2001-02 and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The figures given in the answer to question S1W-30372 were those available for each existing prison. The figures in the annual report refer to the whole of the agency and to establishments which had closed.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the division of responsibilities between the Deputy First Minister and Minister for Justice and the Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), what definition is given to matters of (a) policy and (b) operation.

Mr Jim Wallace: There are no formal definitions set out in the SPS Framework document; the normal sense of the terms "policy" and "operational and contractual" therefore apply. In general terms policy matters which, are for me, include setting key performance measures and deciding the allocation of funds to the SPS and operational and contractual matters, which are for the agency, include decisions on the management of its affairs and contractual relationships with other bodies.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the division of responsibilities between the Deputy First Minister and Minister for Justice and the Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, where it is unclear whether a parliamentary question refers to an operational or policy matter, what procedure is used to determine who should answer the question and who determines whether the question is on an operational or a policy matter.

Mr Jim Wallace: Any such determination would be agreed between me and the Chief Executive on a case-by-case basis.

Regeneration

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the New Life for Urban Scotland Initiative, how much of the (a) £485 million of public expenditure and (b) £55 million spent on enterprise employment and training of residents was spent in Ferguslie Park, Paisley and how many of the (i) 3,126 new houses, (ii) 9,253 improved or rehabilitated houses and (iii) 3,203 positive training outcomes achieved were located in Ferguslie Park

Ms Margaret Curran: I have asked Mr Bob Millar, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

  Under the New Life for Urban Scotland Initiative, Ferguslie Park received (a) £81.6 million of public expenditure, (b) £2.5 million of expenditure on enterprise employment and training of residents. One thousand and sixty new houses, 932 improved or rehabilitated houses and 533 positive training outcomes were located in Ferguslie Park.

Renewable Energy

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what work it is currently undertaking to estimate the employment creation potential of renewable energy.

Ross Finnie: We are currently discussing with Renewables UK the detailed remit for a national study, which will assess the wider economic impact of an expansion in renewable energy across the UK. It is likely that the initial part of this study will concentrate on the position in Scotland, and will include work to determine potential employment creation here.

Residential Care

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will issue further guidance on principles and good practice in accommodating individuals' and relatives' choice of care homes in placement arrangements.

Mr Frank McAveety: New guidance on choice issues is currently being drafted by the Scottish Executive. In addition to this, the Executive's Delayed Discharge Good Practice Resource and Learning and Sharing Network will provide examples of good practice in this and related areas.

Residential Care

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Audit Scotland will be invited to review the policies and practices associated with NHS trusts and hospitals that have high and low rates of delayed discharge patients.

Mr Frank McAveety: We understand Audit Scotland has delayed discharge in its forthcoming programme. The remit and detail of the review is for Audit Scotland to determine. The introduction of the Executive's Delayed Discharge Good Practice Resource and Learning and Sharing network will provide on-going examples of good practice and provide support for local authority and NHS partnerships in improving their policy and practice.

Road Safety

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-31144 by Lewis Macdonald on 14 November 2002, whether it will detail the specific action that each (a) local authority and (b) commercial organisation has taken, or plans to take, to increase awareness of the Foolsspeed campaign.

Lewis Macdonald: The level of detail requested is not held centrally.

Roads

Kay Ullrich (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-30382 and S1W-31275 by Lewis Macdonald on 5 November and 2 December 2002, under what specific powers under which pieces of legislation local authorities may be held responsible for meeting the cost of changes or alterations to signage erected alongside trunk roads.

Lewis Macdonald: It is the policy and practice of Scottish ministers to recover the costs incurred in making changes or alterations to trunk road signs which are not instigated by the Scottish Executive.

Roads

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-5123 by Lewis Macdonald on 2 May 2002, when the improvements to the junction of the A84/A85 at Lochearnhead will (a) begin and (b) be completed.

Lewis Macdonald: The tenders for the A84/A85 junction improvement scheme were returned to the Executive on 27 November 2002. They are currently being evaluated and it is anticipated that the contract will be awarded later this month, and that the successful tenderer will mobilise and commence works on site in January 2003. The construction period is eight weeks.

Roads

Alasdair Morgan (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements exist for local authorities to be compensated for damage caused to non-trunk roads by traffic temporarily diverted from trunk roads due to road blockages.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive has no arrangements for payment of compensation when traffic is diverted from trunk roads to local roads, or conversely from local roads to trunk roads, due to road blockages or other events.

Roads

Gordon Jackson (Glasgow Govan) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to commission any further reports from the Performance Audit Group on the performance of the trunk road maintenance contract operating companies.

Lewis Macdonald: Yes. The Scottish Executive intends to ask the Performance Audit Group to publish its report on the performance of the operating companies annually. It is expected that the 2002-03 report will be published in August - September 2003. As with this years’ report, future reports will be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Social Inclusion

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Beattie Inclusiveness Projects there are in East Dunbartonshire and how much funding has been allocated to each such projects it will be allocated

Iain Gray: There is one Careers Scotland Inclusiveness Project covering the Dunbartonshire area. It has been allocated £594,500 over the period April 2001 to March 2004.

Student Finance

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of recipients of an access bursary have been domiciled in (a) East Dunbartonshire, (b) Kirkintilloch, (c) Lennoxtown, (d) Twechar, (e) Auchinairn, (f) Bishopbriggs, (g) Bearsden, (h) Milngavie and (i) Milton of Campsie since the bursaries were introduced.

Iain Gray: The Young Students’ Bursary is provided as entitlement based on the level of parental income. Eligibility for the bursary is assessed as part of the overall assessment of eligibility for student support.

  In academic year 2001-02, there were 13,579 recipients of the Young Students' Bursary. In the current academic year, to date, 20,190 awards have been made. The following table shows the percentage of recipients domiciled in each area since the bursaries were introduced.

  


Area 
  

Percentage 
  



(a) East Dunbartonshire 
  

2.43 
  



(b) Kirkintilloch 
  

0.65 
  



(c) Lennoxtown 
  

0.09 
  



(d) Twechar 
  

0.14 
  



(e) Auchinairn 
  

0.36 
  



(f) Bishopbriggs 
  

0.27 
  



(g) Bearsden 
  

0.59 
  



(h) Milngavie 
  

0.24 
  



(i) Milton of Campsie 
  

0.09

Teachers

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what training for teachers of deaf pupils will be incorporated into the chartered teacher programme.

Nicol Stephen: The Standard for Chartered Teacher was developed, through consultation, as a generic, quality-based standard. Chartered Teacher programmes will be accredited if they enable candidates to meet that standard and impact positively on professional performance.

  Chartered Teacher programmes will contain four core modules:

  Professional development: review, reflection and planning;

  Learning and teaching;

  Education for all, and

  Working together.

  Education for All will focus on the full range of pupil diversity and the effects of diversity on teaching and learning. Thereafter, programme providers and candidates can elect to pursue any aspect of education inclusion, including issues relating to deaf pupils, through option modules.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Ministers

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer how much Dr Richard Simpson MSP will receive in lump sum payments following his resignation as a junior Scottish minister.

Sir David Steel: Under The Scotland Act 1998 (Transitory and Transitional Provisions) (Grants to Members and Officeholders) Order 1999 Dr Simpson is entitled to receive a lump sum payment equal to one quarter of his former officeholder’s salary. The actual amount payable will be £5,674.75.

  The order was made by the Secretary of State for Scotland under transitional powers contained in the Scotland Act. These rules will be examined in due course as part of the review of the various grants dealt with under the Transitional Order ahead of its replacement by Parliament.